Singular

Elsa Walsh leads a singular life. Smart and graceful, loved and in love, accomplished yet endearing. Her mother is her best friend. Her husband was smitten with her instantly and loves her still.She jumped from the campus of the University of California at Berkeley to Pulitzer finalist for the Washington Post so quickly she might have suffered vertigo.She works long days in the upstairs office of a historic Georgetown home but restores herself and her marriage each weekend at a waterfront retreat, where she sculls, reads and entertains luminaries in journalism and politics.

It's not correct. Well, mebbe. But if you are thinking about English as a correct thing that is separate from the people who speak and write it, you are misguided. Classical Latin is the kind of language you're thinking about. It is always correct, because it is dead and cannot change. The people who speak it are long dead, and it has morphed into Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. But English is a living language, and whatever its speakers and writers collectively make it over time is what is correct.

So the new hockey team in town has chosen a nickname. And the choice should be applauded.Not because Bandits is such an inspired name, something original, particularly evocative of Baltimore or uniquely suited to the sport. And not because of the fuzzy little raccoon that goes along with the name.No, the great thing about the name is that it's a plural.You know, something that ends in an "s." Something that accurately an be referred to as a "they." Something tangible.Western civilization began its decline when musical groups on the top of the charts stopped having names such as the Coasters, the Platters and the Everly Brothers and started to bear names such as the Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Jefferson Airplane and the Quicksilver Messenger Service.

Lou Davis, the dean of State House reporters, cracked the Annapolis equivalent of the "glass ceiling" Friday as he became the only journalist honored with a meal in his name at Chick & Ruth's deli of Main Street. Gov. Martin O'Malley and House Speaker Michael E. Busch joined in the ceremony at which "the Lou Davis" -- a lox, eggs and onion platter with deli potatoes and toast -- was added to the menu wall alongside dozens of sandwiches and other meals named for politicians. Teddy Levitt, owner of Chick & Ruth's, said Davis has been a customer at the deli since the 1960s.

In yesterday's Today section, an incorrect time and date were given for "First Person Singular: I. M. Pei" to air. Because of its pledge drive, Maryland Public Television is carrying the 90-minute PBS documentary on the highly regarded architect today at 11: 30 p.m.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 3/06/97

Sometimes you have a corner in the house that needs something special; something that will lift the whole room out of the ordinary and into the rare. The artists who created the singular items below took unusual materials and design into the realm of highly personal visions for the home. If what you see is not quite what you want, give them a call. They also work on commission, and can create something for you alone.Pub Date:

A Word A Day, by Anu Garg. Wiley & Sons. 224 pages. $14.95. Since 1994, Anu Garg's Web site, www.Wordsmith.org, has been attracting legions of enthusiasts for the obscure, the strange and the enchanting in the English language. Here is a compilation of some 300 of them -- ranging from ayndeton ("The omission of conjunctions, as in 'I came, I saw, I conquered.' ") to webliography ("A list of electronic documents on a particular topic. Blend of the words web and bibliography."). It's a source book for advanced crossword puzzlers, and a dangerous weapon for Scrabble sharks.

25 Years Ago* The 25 non-unionized employees at the Goodyear Retread Plant outside Westminster, who walked off their jobs last week, went back to work after a two-day protest. The major grievances -- low pay and allegedly unsafe working conditions -- have not been directly settled but Earl Warner, a spokesman for the employees, said he feels they have made some headway. -- Democratic Advocate.50 Years Ago* The solicitors for the Red Cross of Westminster district have turned over to their chairman, Rev. Edmund Lippy, more than $10,000 that has been collected.

YellowstoneFormed by megaton volcanic blasts, sculpted by glaciers and boiling water, Yellowstone's singular landscape became the world's first national park in 1872. Its more than 2.2 million acres straddling three Western states first attracted adventurers on horseback and later the adventurous elite by railroad.In 1903, during a dedication at Yellowstone's northern entrance in Gardiner, Mont., President Theodore Roosevelt expressed his hope "to see a steadily increasing number of our people take advantage of its attractions."

Here is an excerpt of an editorial from the Los Angeles Times, which was published Friday.IT IS with a straight face that we report that the parents of five San Diego children filed a class-action lawsuit recently alleging that the makers of the wildly popular Pokemon trading cards are setting their kids on the road to rack and ruin by encouraging them to, well, gamble.In essence, the complaint alleges that collecting trading cards is a form of illegal gambling because the odds of finding any one of the 150 different cards in any given package vary greatly.

Young or old, rabid or casual, Baltimore Orioles fans are a little poorer today with the announcement of the death of longtime Sun staffer James Bready ("James Hall Bready," Nov. 1). A true Renaissance man, Mr. Bready brought his remarkable talents to bear in the compilation of two indelible histories of the local nine, "The Home Team" and "Baseball in Baltimore. " Just as Brooks Robinson's artistry in the field and at bat inspired the remark that he must have been sent down from a higher league, Jim Bready's mix of wit, passion, drama and love for the game, as reflected in his singular prose, likewise proved he had no equal.

They sat for hours, discussing the mutual acquaintances they've made over many years in the game, their philosophies on building a roster and what had become of the once-proud Orioles franchise. In a secluded cabin situated on a golf course about 45 minutes from where the floundering Orioles were playing a road game against the Texas Rangers last July, Andy MacPhail and Buck Showalter, polar opposites on the surface, found common ground. MacPhail, the Orioles' president of baseball operations whose rebuilding project was bursting at the seams, wanted a manager with a big persona and a lot of swagger, somebody to get the attention of a youthful and underachieving roster and inspire a defeated fan base.

Billy Rowell is deep in thought, gazing intently into his locker at Harry Grove Stadium. Is he contemplating his future, once considered the brightest in the Orioles organization but now clouded considerably in his third straight year with the Frederick Keys, the club's high Single-A affiliate? Is he thinking about his past, when he wowed scouts with a high school power display that earned him a $2.1 million signing bonus as the Orioles' first-round pick in 2006? "I need to get Muscle Milk," Rowell recounted later.

Fans of Animal Collective won't be surprised to hear that "ODDSAC," the movie the band made with director Danny Perez that's getting its local premiere Saturday night at the Senator Theatre, is about as far removed from a conventional concert film as possible. "I really don't like to use the word ‘film' too much; it kind of carries with it some expectations," band member Brian Weitz, who grew up in Lutherville, says from his Washington home. "It doesn't have any narrative, doesn't have any dialogue.

John R. "Jack" Yates of Charles Village was killed Aug. 4, when his bicycle hit a truck near downtown. Charles G. "Boots" Pratt of Randallstown was killed Aug. 9, when a gunman shot him in a parking lot in Cherry Hill. Yates was 67, had been busy working on his third master's degree, and had two children and six grandchildren. Pratt was 18, had been busy working with the Hillside street gang, according to police, and had just escaped an attempted-murder charge because a witness recanted.

Colonial Players has just completed its One-Act Festival, providing in two weekends what its producer called "a learning lab for aspiring directors." The combination of nine plays produced by Beth Terranova was called "Fun and Mind Games," consisting of old and new comedies and dramas to please casual theater-goers. Different slates were offered on different evenings: Slate 1 featured six short plays and Slate 2 had three plays, including a 45-minute comedy, Civilization and Its Malcontents.

One Man's Bible, by Gao Xingjian. Harper Collins. 464 pages. $26.95. About halfway through One Man's Bible, the new novel by Gao Xingjian, the narrator decides to travel to the Yellow River. He's never seen it before, but it has existed as a powerful symbol in Chinese folklore for years. There is a saying, he tells us, "that a person should not give up before reaching the Yellow River." So he takes a train, a bus and a long walk until he finally arrives. As he stands upon an embankment, the starry vision of his imagination gives way to stark reality: "Was this fast-flowing, brown, muddy river the Yellow River that had been praised in songs over the ages?

THE year of the woman began not in 1992, as we have been led to believe, but in April 1917, 76 years ago, when Jeannette Rankin walked into the House of Representatives as the first woman to enter Congress.On Nov. 7, 1916, Montana elected Rankin, 36 and unmarried, to the House by a plurality of 7,567 votes. At the time, only 12 of the 48 states granted women the right to vote.On her election, pundits raged over the new American Revolution and fanned rumors about her looks and wardrobe.It was said that "the lady from Montana" packed a .44 caliber six-shooter and trimmed her skirts with chaps fur. The press called her a "slip of a girl" and wrote that she was out of her mind to step into a body made up of 434 men. She received countless marriage proposals.

Annapolis High School held a graduation ceremony last night for one student - a victim of a mall shooting 19 months ago who was held out of commencement because of threats against him. From his seat inside the auditorium, Tahzay Lamont Brown listened to congratulations from his principal, the vice president of the Anne Arundel County school board and the deputy superintendent. His mother wiped tears from her cheeks and yelled, "Tahzay! You go!" as he walked across the stage, a newly minted graduate clutching his diploma.

We were at a Gilbert family reunion a few years ago, and someone evidently married someone who is Scottish, or has some Scottish in his family, or who likes Scotch, and bingo. Bagpipes appeared. First of all, is it a bagpipe, or is it bagpipes? I'm going to refer to it as a bagpipes because while it is clearly just one instrument, we must acknowledge that it certainly sounds like a whole lot more. Anyway, at our final formal family reunion dinner, in sashayed one of the family members, playing a bagpipes.